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Today I saw a video in which ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti teaches us how to make pitas in space, and invites us to try to make them at home. I understand that much of the food on the ISS is freezed dried. My sister and I enjoy freeze-dried mangos and would like to send some to the ISS crew to taste. Who should I contact to propose to send the astronauts our favorite snack?

I feel that this question is related to space exploration as one of the purposes of the ISS is to establish a human presence off-planet, or to practice doing so. All permanent human dwellings have mail service, even if it is irregular or not periodic. Therefore, to normalize the ISS to a normal human dwelling it should be expected that people would be able to send packages there, even under scrutiny. Realizing this would be a terrific step forward in man's conquest of space.

Note that this question was translated into English by my father, who is the one typing it. I'm eight years old and I don't use SE unsupervised.

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    $\begingroup$ Pretty sure the amount of postage you'll need will amount to covering your packet in multiple layers of stamps :-) $\endgroup$
    – hiergiltdiestfu
    Aug 15, 2015 at 16:26
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    $\begingroup$ By the time you get enough stamps you'll need more stamps for the weight of the postage, which will require more stamps... It's like a reverse rocket equation! $\endgroup$
    – Austin
    Jul 14, 2016 at 18:27
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    $\begingroup$ The next batch of repair parts for the ISS should include some Swedish Fish. Congrats on the question, and keep asking and seeking knowledge for the rest of your life! $\endgroup$
    – PhasedOut
    Dec 5, 2016 at 18:26

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Ultimately, you would want to contact NASA (or another one of the participating space agencies) to request sending anything to or from the International Space Station.

You could try contacting a former astronaut via social media (e.g. Cmdr. Chris Hadfield, who has a lively Twitter account). Even though an astronaut (probably) wouldn't have the authority to make this kind of decision, they would very likely know who to contact.

You could try contacting the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (link). While your idea isn't an experiment, this is an open channel for collecting students' ISS-related ideas and putting them into action!

My guess is that the officials managing the ISS crew would want to send food that is professionally prepared for the ISS crew...but who knows! :-)

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    $\begingroup$ If you are from Europe, Andreas Mogensen is soon going to ISS, you could ask him to take something for the trip! $\endgroup$
    – TonioElGringo
    Aug 17, 2015 at 11:47
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    $\begingroup$ Id have to imagine there are some controls around this. Imagine, despite having good intentions, you give the entire ISS crew extreme diherrea-- the worst space outbreak in history. $\endgroup$
    – Magic Octopus Urn
    Aug 18, 2018 at 4:38

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